Ultimate book on the complex topic of our weather
Jim Tucker is a journalist and writer based in New Plymouth. OPINION: In what feels like the last great era of books, its both encouraging and alarming to find a new one that might become the most influential of our time. Professor James Renwicks account of whats happening with climate change appropriately called Under the Weather is unsurpassed as a clear and dire warning of whats about to befall us. Clear, in the sense Renwick, a Kiwi and one of the worlds leading weather scientists, writes about a complex topic in an accessible way. He calls a cloud a cloud. He describes the danger of carbon dioxide buildup in words of single syllables. His prose is deceptively simple. Primary school kids will understand his theses as quickly as the politicians he says need to act to save us from a future thats already making itself apparent. READ MORE: * More hot days, 50cm sea rise for region without urgent climate action, scientist says * New Zealand insulated from worst, but climate chaos here already, scientist warns * Latest IPCC climate change report: The world is changing rapidly. See for yourself His forecast is dire because hes saying if we dont take action yesterday (we didnt) well find out the hard way that our lifestyle wont sustain our obsession with petrol- and diesel-fuelled vehicles, massive irrigation schemes supporting inappropriate farming, coal-fired heating, suburban spread or any of the other climate-damaging practices we imagine can continue unabated. Were much talk and little action, he says, despite New Zealands enhanced opportunity to become the first developed nation to achieve zero-carbon status, to beat the menace of the carbon-dioxide accumulation in our atmosphere thats over-heating the climate. His book firstly describes whats going on, why we really are warming up and how it cant be explained away as a natural phenomenon. He explains world trends and our part in them. And why, despite our smallness, we matter as much as anyone else in the overall scheme of things. Reputation-wise, we aint doing well, being some of the worlds highest carbon dioxide producers per capita and taking little advantage so far of our almost unique opportunities to beat the menace. There has been a start, with the setting up of the Climate Change Commission to co-ordinate research and response, but according to Renwick we need to change our fundamental approach to life if we mean business. Recent storms like Gabrielle and the flooding of Auckland are moving rapidly from being once-in-a-lifetime events to regular occurrences for places like Northland and the east coasts of both islands, while the cold needed for growing grapes, some pip fruits and kiwifruit will be confined to the deep south. There will be more frequent severe droughts. The countrys hottest day 42.4 Celsius in Rangiora in 1973 will be exceeded. Dairying will become untenable in Canterbury, despite damaging attempts to irrigate. A 1C rise in global average temperature is already upon us, and the international target of holding it to 1.5C is almost certain to fail. Were more likely to reach two or even three extra degrees in a matter of decades, causing glaciers and Greenlands ice to disappear and the slower-melting Antarctic ice shelf to slide into the ocean. Low-lying parts of our coasts will be invaded by the sea. Seawalls will eventually fail, stop-banks will be ineffective, salt water will penetrate drinking water sources. And so on. Renwick doesnt accept the argument that individuals like us cant do anything. He believes if everyone makes an effort, no matter how small - to change how we get around, what we eat, how we keep warm or cool, what we consume, and what to expect from those who govern us - such a shift in public commitment can still make enough difference to prevent disaster. Merely assuming everything is going to be okay doesnt cut it. When it comes to battling ennui, he relates the following experience: Back in 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Fifth Assessment Report. Id been involved with writing one of the chapters, so I did a bit of media after the report was made public. Can you run me through the key points? one journalist asked. Sure, I replied. The report documents unprecedented warming, extreme temperatures, extreme rainfalls and sea-level rise, and the urgent need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, among other things. Oh. So, same old, same old? None of that sounds very newsworthy. I was staggered. It means the future of humanity is in danger. How is that not newsworthy? As a journalist, Im embarrassed - but I understand: a constant need for arresting novelty besets us all. Since then, Renwick has obviously learned scientists must keep the message simple. With this classic book, he has. Its newsworthy all right.